Contractible dress form



y 7, 1964 L. CELLA 3,140,022

CONTRACTIBLE DRESS FORM Filed June 30, 1961 IN V TOR.

United States Patent 3,140,022 CONTRACTIBLE DRESS FORM Luigi Cella, 155 Norman Road, Newark, NJ. Filed June 30, 1961, Ser. No. 121,253 2 Claims. (Cl. 223-68) This invention relates to a precision adjustable ladies dress form, and embodies improvements on the dress form shown in my Patent 2,922,555, issued January 26, 1960.

In fitting a dress on a form, in the process of making, it is known that it is difiicult to remove the dress from the form, due to the fact that the shoulders and chest portions of the form are wider than its lower dimensions. It has therefore been the practice to stretch the dress to get it off the form, which practice is plainly undesirable. I therefore provide a form the width of which at the shoulders and chest portions may be temporarily contracted or reduced to allow the dress to be easily raised from the form without stretching it. Such a temporary contraction may be effected when using my construction, by pressing the opposing sides of the form toward each other at the chest portion. On release of the inward pressure, the natural resiliency of the cardboard, of which it is made, restores the form to normal.

More specifically, in a pair of lapped and connected front sections, and also in a pair of lapped and connected back sections, of a dress form, as illustrated in my Patent 2,922,555, I provide aligned transverse or horizontal slots in adjoining sections, which slots overlap at their inner end portions, as the dress form is constructed, and I pass a fastener through the overlapping inner end portions of the slots. By pressing the sides of the form inwardly, the mentioned construction allows the form to be temporarily contracted at the bust and shoulder portions to allow it to be easily pulled upwardly from the form, after which the form is self-returning to its normal dimensions, due to the resiliency of the cardboard of which it is constructed.

The drawings illustrate the invention, and in these:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a pair of connected sections, when flat, of a dress form, showing the construction for contraction of the shoulder and bust of the form; and

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary enlargement of the upper portion of FIGURE 1, showing the overlapped portions pressed inwardly.

Referring to the drawing for a detailed description, A and A1 designate the two connected and lapped front sections (fragmentarily shown) of the bodice of a dress form which comprises several connected sections as shown 3,140,022 Patented July 7, 1964 in Patent 2,922,555, in which the front sections are also designated A and A1. Sections A and A1 also represent the back sections of the bodice as far as the present invention is concerned.

The mentioned sections are secured together at points 9, 10 and 11, the fastener 11 going through section A1 and also through the tongue 13, which is part of section A and which is inserted through a slot formed in section A1.

Section A has a slightly curved, closed, transverse slot 5 in the upper chest portion, and section A1 has a corresponding slot 6. The inner end portions of said slots register or coincide, and through this common portion of the slots there is a releasable fastener 7, which may be of any suitable kind, as for example, a brassed paper fastener of the split shank or cotter pin type. It is therefore readily seen that the bodice of the dress form may be contracted by pressing inwardly on the sides of the form, so that sections A and A1 assume the positions shown in FIG- URE 2, in which the mentioned slots are reversed as to right and left.

What is claimed is:

1. Components for the formation of the bodice of a dress form, comprising a pair of front, resiliently flexible, sheet sections lapped at their inner margins, a pair of back, resiliently flexible, sheet sections lapped marginally at their inner margins, said pairs of sections adapted to be connected together, means connecting the lapped lower portions of each pair of sections in fixed lapping relation, the sections of each pair having, in their chest portions, above said connecting means, transverse or crosswise slots normally registering at their inner portions, and a removable fastener extending through the registering portions of each pair of said slots and adapted to allow the upper portions of the sections of each pair to be pressed inwardly, whereby the width of the bodice at the shoulder and chest portions may be temporarily contracted, when said pairs of sections are connected, to allow a dress to be lifted from the bodice without stretching.

2. The combination specified in claim 1, in which said slots are concavo-convex with the convex sides uppermost.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 913,329 Ulford Feb. 23, 1909 921,184 Ulford May 11, 1909 974,507 McNabb Nov. 1, 1910 1,099,930 Paull June 16, 1914 2,739,744 Beierle Mar. 27, 1956 2,948,445 Stoddard Aug. 9. 1960 

1. COMPONENTS FOR THE FORMATION OF THE BODICE OF A DRESS FORM, COMPRISING A PAIR OF FRONT, RESILIENTLY FLEXIBLE, SHEET SECTIONS LAPPED AT THEIR INNER MARGINS, A PAIR OF BACK, RESILIENTLY FLEXIBLE, SHEET SECTION LAPPED MARGINALLY AT THEIR INNER MARGINS, SAID PAIRS OF SECTIONS ADAPTED TO BE CONNECTED TOGETHER, MEANS CONNECTING THE LAPPED LOWER PORTIONS OF EACH PAIR OF SECTIONS IN FIXED LAPPING RELATION, THE SECTIONS OF EACH PAIR HAVING, IN THEIR CHEST PORTIONS, ABOVE SAID CONNECTING MEANS, TRANSVERSE OR CROSSWISE SLOTS NORMALLY REGISTERING AT THEIR INNER PORTIONS, AND A REMOVABLE FASTENER EXTENDING THROUGH THE REGISTERING PORTIONS OF EACH PAIR OF SAID SLOTS AND ADAPTED TO ALLOW THE UPPER PORTIONS OF THE SECTIONS OF EACH PAIR TO BE PRESSED INWARDLY, WHEREBY THE WIDTH OF THE BODICE AT THE SHOULDER 